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Major shift in UK children’s behaviour as time online overtakes time watching TV for first time ever, reveals new report.

This year has seen a major shift in UK children’s media use with time spent online overtaking TV viewing for the first time ever, according to the latest 2016 CHILDWISE Monitor Report.

Tablet ownership also soared this year – up by 50% from last year. Just six years after the UK release of the iPad, tablets have swept into children’s lives, with two in three (67%) now having their own device.

The new data shows that YouTube has taken centre stage in children’s lives this year to become the place they turn to for entertainment, music, games, TV programmes, instruction and advice. Half use the site every day, almost all do so on occasion.

The majority of children who use YouTube visit the site to access music videos (58%). Around half of users keep themselves entertained with funny content on YouTube (52%). Around a third watch gaming content, vlogs/blogs, TV programmes or ‘how to’ videos.

Children are also going online more in their bedrooms. Three in four children (73%) can now access the internet in their room, up from two in three (63%) last year.

The 2016 CHILDWISE Monitor is a comprehensive annual report looking at five to 16-year-olds media consumption, purchasing and social habits as well as key behaviour. More than 2000 children in schools across the United Kingdom completed in-depth online surveys for the report.

“Growing access to the internet at any time and in any place, and a blurring of television content across channels and devices, brings a landmark change in behaviour this year. TV viewing has been redefined,” says Simon Leggett, Research Director from CHILDWISE.

“Children are now seeking out the content of their choice. They still find traditional TV programmes engaging but are increasingly watching them online and on-demand or binge watching box sets.”

This year, for the first time, tablet devices have overtaken laptops/PCs/netbooks as the main type of computer that children have in their homes. Four in five children (79%) now live in a house with a tablet device in it. This is a significant rise from just three in five (61%) last year.

Findings of the report also include...

Children age 5-16 now use the internet for an average of three hours a day and watch TV for 2.1 hours. It is worth noting that simply counting hours spent on devices can be problematic. Children multi task and often use more than one device at once and don’t always give each full attention.

63% of children own their own mobile phone with an average monthly spend of £12.

“This is the year YouTube use has exploded among children with almost half (48%) using it every day and just 10% never using it,” says Simon

“Around a third of children who use YouTube watch vlogs/blogs. Girls are much more likely to be interested in these than boys and viewing is highest for older children, peaking at half of 11-12 year olds.”

However, the majority of children are passive consumers, rather than contributors to YouTube, rarely going beyond liking/disliking content or subscribing to channels. Only a minority ever post comments, share or upload videos.

“Children of all ages, both boys and girls, find somebody to follow on YouTube who speaks directly to them and reflects their interests, coming across as authentic and unmediated,” Simon added.

“For older girls, vloggers are filling the role previously held by magazines – somewhere to read about other people’s lives, problems, cringes, new ideas and fashion.”

Boys of all ages enjoy FIFA football gaming commentary by vloggers such as Joe Weller and Miniminter. Younger boys like Minecraft gameplay vloggers such as TheDiamondMinecart, Stampy and iBallisticSquid. Older boys favour KSI

CHILDWISE is an independent market research agency specialising in children and young people.

A new piece of Voxburner research into young people and their attitudes and behaviours when it comes to using apps reveals that 67% of 16-24s find ads the biggest turn-off when it comes to apps.

Apps that take too long to load (45%), too many push notifications (34%) and requiring to login to use an app (30%) were other key reasons apps can be a turn-off for young people. 35% of respondents also shared of their frustration when an app isn’t available on their mobile platform.

28% of respondents say they always turn off push notifications as soon as they download an app, whilst 60% say they will turn them off if they get too many notifications. 43% say that negative reviews will have an impact on whether they decide to download an app.

The majority of 16-24s (73%) have a core number of 1 - 10 apps that they use on a weekly basis, despite 53% saying they have more than 30 apps downloaded on their phone in total. 14% of respondents have over 50 apps downloaded, whilst 4% have more than 100.

It’s social networking apps (81%) and game apps (70%) that are used the most often - Tumblr, Spotify, YouTube and BBC all feature highly. Weather apps, included in so many default installations, are popular, with 42% of those surveyed using them actively each week. We see that women are more interested in health and fitness apps and photo and video apps, whilst men are using sports and entertainment apps more than women. Blackboard and Evernote were mentioned specifically by students or recent graduates as the top app that helped them at university this year.

Commenting on the results, Precious Hamilton-Brown, Creative Coordinator for Swiftkey, says: “The best apps are those that solve a problem and stand the test of time - the ones you rely on regularly because they improve the overall experience of using your phone. Some apps entice a download but then remain neglected until that inevitable day when your storage space is low and it’s time for a ruthless deleting spree! Young people rightly have high expectations when it comes to giving away a prime spot on their homescreen. They expect quality apps that deliver genuine value, keeping them coming back for more. Companies that want to grow their teenage fanbase must have integrity, credibility and not rest on their laurels for a moment.”

When asked how they feel about the new Facebook messenger app, 44% of 16-24s say it annoys them that it’s now a separate app, whilst 15% say they don’t use Facebook on their phone at all.

Luke Mitchell, Head of Insight at Voxburner, says: “The number of apps young people keep on their phone indicate that there’s no space for those that aren’t providing fun or utility. Annoy them with excessive push notifications or intrusive ads and you’ll feel the full impact of the ‘uninstall’ button.

Claire, aged 18 from Medway, adds: “Facebook just seems to get boring, it's the same old thing day in day out. Typically the other apps [YouTube, WhatsApp, Skype] seem to be more direct communication with individuals, a platform for conversation, or in YouTube's case, watching and finding new things, whether it be music, funny cat videos or anything else.”

Jennie, aged 20 from Brighton, says: “I recently upgraded my phone to the iPhone 5C. It took me a while to decide whether to get an iPhone or change to a Samsung but in the end I decided it would be easier to stay with the iPhone (I had a 4 before) as I wouldn't lose all my apps and wouldn't have to faff around sorting out my music either.”

The full research on Young people and apps can be downloaded for free on the Voxburner website.